"We're pretty happy about it," said Bob Rush, a Northwest Conservation District board member. "We'll straighten it up a bit and put in some walking trails through the meadow and along the river. We can use it 10 months out of the year."

Rush said the district plans to donate the wildlife preserve to the town once completed.

"It might be a year or so before we get the invasive species and the dead trees out," Rush said. "But just think: a wildlife preserve with the church steeples from the town visible in the distance. It will be that close to town."